Mercure replaces Green at WTMJ-AM

John Mercure, the controversial former WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) reporter, will take over the WTMJ-AM (620) afternoon drive time slot when Jonathan Green retires next month, the station announced today. »Read Full Blog Post

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Green was intelligent, entertaining and had a good sense of humor. Having some knowledge of how Mercure operated I have nothing but disdain for the man. He typified the type of "investigative journalism" where the socalled reporter has an agenda when he goes after a story and did not let the truth stand in the way. He caused significant harm to individuals lives without fully investigating the person or situation. He and his type of "journalism" is one of the reasons the press generally has lost credubility. I am amazed the WTMJ group continue to employ his service, they must be hard up to find people to work in Milwaukee.

I'm a liberal/moderate, but I did listen to Green's show to get the local news and weather and traffic. I didn't find him so irritating as a lot of you, just switched my radio to NPR in either Milwaukee or Madison for awhile when Green or the commercials began to grate on my nerves. And I give him credit for talking about being a recovering alcoholic. I suspect he inspired some people to get help.

I really don't like how mean spirited many of the posters here are - especially since the man is leaving.

For all of you pining for Cianciola, why on earth would you think Wexler would bring him back after unceremoniously dumping him?? That's just not realistic. Also, while he was certainly funny and knowledgeable, you must have amnesia if you don't remember HE was far more homophobic than Green; the Michael Jackson parody was pretty mean, and boring after the 100th time.

That said, I never liked Mercure's sensationalism. I will listen for at least a month on my afternoon dog walks to see where the show goes.

Meanwhile, good luck and best wishes to Jonathan Green.

My 25 year old son agrees with a previous poster that Bill Michaels doesn't really know as much at Homer, but I like listening to him - he's entertaining to a general listener, and his audience isn't composed of hard core sports nuts after all...

Finally, to the person who is anticipating NPR going away. Don't hold your breath - government support is less than 15%, and listeners will keep these stations on the air through pledges because we REALLY value the programming, even those of us who don't like the way Juan Williams was let go.

Snazzy that's the point...he WAS on fox news as a contributor, a dissenting voice, a different opinion, which is much more than can be said for WPR/NPR. He's a liberal journalist and proud of it, but he is not an arrogant ideologue (much like our current President) who knows what's best for all of us and snidely looks down at anyone who disagrees. I respect Juan Williams and enjoy listening to him though I disagree with much of what he believes. You should try it sometime....it's healthy.

During drive times in the am and pm the average listener is tuned in for about 25 minutes while trapped in their car and on their way to and from work. WTMJ now tells us that during that time we want a short burst of news,sports, weather and incessant traffic babble telling us that there is no problem whatsoever on the road. While we listen during that time every possible bit of information is wrapped around some form of commercial billboard as as many sponsors as possible bring dollars into the Journal's accounts receivable. This stream of information is then sandwiched between several commercial breaks every ten minutes. The next time you listen to "The Biggest Stick in the State" count the number of commercials that you hear and you might be surprised at the number of times the cash register rings on Capitol Drive. Listen to the structure...talk, sell,talk,sell.sell,sell and remember to call our sponsored toll free number while listening to baseball brought to you by Kohls.

John Mercure is an ethical, intelligent, clear-minded able human being. I expect he will not only succeed in this new show but increase the ratings.

Being the originator of NBC's "To Catch a Predator" has not only won him an emmy (to add to the other 4, making FIVE like the report incorrectly stated) but has proved not only his originality but ability to ask the hard questions and truly report the things that matter to others.

Although it is dissapointing that Green is leaving, the station will be in good new hands with John. For all of you that are listening to WGN, fine. Why don't you just move to Illinios? Simply because he is not your taste does NOT mean he isn't more than qualified for this position and will exceed expectations. But maybe get some facts straight first and realize that he's only trying to protect us and report upon the scum of the earth such as yourselves.

It's about time we get someone who is genuine and a great person! Don't get me wrong, Johnathan Green was wonderful, but it is time to move on and hear from someone new. For those of you who are not happy about this and will no longer listen, OH WELL your loss.Way to go John! We'll be listening!

I bet Jay Weber from the WISN morning show was offered the job first, but turned it down. Too bad WISN doesn't have Jay Weber on longer in the morning. Glenn Beck on WISN surely must boost Charlie Syke's ratings on WTMJ until 10 AM, then Vicki McKenna has a great show on WISN.